I remember as a small child, that we always heard this particular Psalm at Thanksgiving, as we were being reminded that we are to be thankful for all that God has and continues to provide.  He has provided for us the earth; the rivers and streams, the land, the prairie and the fields.  He provides us with plants and animals that share this world with us.  I love to sit on my front porch and enjoy the breeze as it blows through the trees.  I enjoy watching the birds and the rabbits which appear in the yard and the deer in the fields nearby.  I hang humming bird and wild bird feeders to help feed the birds who live nearby.  God has blessed us with all of this, however, there are places that are not as pretty and yet even in the more distressed places, God continues to provide and there is beauty.  God is good.  Just as the earth is his, we are his as well. There is beauty in people who love and care for one another.  I was told once of an area that had been torn apart by war and yet on Sunday morning, you could hear voices raised in song as people walked to the place of worship.  People, who had lost so much, and yet were filled with praise to God who gave them life, family, friends, faith.   

God is good. God is great, and God continues to provide for his people not just word, but he provides for his people. We praise him for the little things that God gives us each day. Make a joyful noise; praise the Lord. 

God has rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and now he tells Moses if they listen to him and they do what he says, then God will make them a priestly kingdom, and a holy nation. God has claimed them for himself. God did that when he called Abraham, or Abram and Sarai to follow him and promised them the land to which he would bring them when he promised that Abraham would be the father of nations. God called him to follow and he reaffirmed that promise that Israel would be a great nation when they listen to his voice and follow his commands. God would love and bless his people. God continued to be with them just as God is with us today.

Of course there’s times when we don’t listen to him, we decide we want to do what we want to do. And there’s times when we listen but we don’t quite do exactly as God calls us to do.  We get caught up in our own selves, yet God is always there.  He constantly reaches out to us, as a loving Father, leading and guiding us to what is best for us.  God is always there. God always hears us, and he continues to be with us through his word in the pages of scripture as we read, study, and listen to what his word says to us.  He is with us in prayer and always answers our prayers, not always the way we want, but in the way which is best.  God is with us in community, where he surrounds us with other believers, our brothers and sisters in Christ, who share in our joys and our sorrows.  God comes to us in the waters of  baptism, and in the bread, and in the wine of communion and God continues to call us.  He says to us that he will make us a holy nation as we listen and follow him.  He promises to bring us to him and always be a part of our lives. God loves us, and God wants to bless us. He is that great and wonderful father, who wants nothing better than to bless his children.  What blessings does God have in store for us today?  How is he calling us to be his?